


A Very Bad May Day

by bobblemonkey2



Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Humor, Plot, Plot Twists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24859498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobblemonkey2/pseuds/bobblemonkey2
Summary: Sophie has been worrying about May Day for weeks, and when the day finally comes, her worries become a reality.
Relationships: Calcifer & Sophie Hatter & Howl Pendragon, Lettie Hatter & Martha Hatter & Sophie Hatter, Lettie Hatter/Ben Sullivan | Wizard Suliman, Michael Fisher/Martha Hatter, Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	1. In Which Sophie Worries

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place between book 1 and book 2. This is my first time writing an actual HMC multi-chapter story so lmk what you think!  
> All characters (except OCs) belong to Diana Wynne Jones.

Life in Ingary had been rather dull in comparison to the events that unfurled after last May Day. When Sophie Hatter, an ordinary young girl, had been turned into an ninety-year old woman by the Witch of the Waste, and as a result came to live in Howl’s Moving Castle as a cleaning lady. When said Sophie had struck a deal with a fire demon, Calcifer, that promised to break both their curses. When a fight between Wizard Howl and some mermaids in the harbour had captivated the whole of Porthaven. When Sophie had discovered a whole new world called Wales on the other side of the castle’s magic door, and through there came the Witch of the Waste’s fire demon, Miss Angorian, to wreak havoc on the castle and all of its inhabitants - or so was the plan until Sophie got her own back. When Sophie had given heartless Howl his heart back, and breathed life into Calcifer, finally breaking their curses. When Howl had promised her a happily ever after, amongst the chaos of their family and friends’ nagging and chatter.

Yes, a life following all of these events was bound to look dull in comparison. At least this remained true until the next May Day, when life seemed to take a turn for the extraordinary once again.

‘It’s a little tight, Sophie!’ Martha exclaimed in an uncomfortable puff as she tried on the May Day dress her sister had sewed for her. It was a deep purple gown that looked stunning against her hair, as Sophie expected it would when she suggested the colour - it would have been perfect had the corset not currently been starving Martha of air.

‘Starting that family of ten children a little early are we?’ Lettie giggled. She was wearing her own royal blue dress which fortunately did fit.

‘Ha.’ Martha replied sarcastically, trying to loosen the corset strings. ‘I think this has more to do with one too many pastries from Cesari’s,’ she pointed at the bulge in her belly.

‘Don’t worry I can let it out at the waist,’ Sophie came up behind her sister, measuring tape hanging loosely over her shoulder and several pencils resting in her bun. She was the only one not wearing her May Day dress, instead opting for a loose coverall that allowed her to work more freely. ‘I think an extra inch or two should do the trick.’

‘I do love it though, Soph! It’s perfect aside from the fact I can’t breathe.’ She giggled, prompting Lettie to giggle in response. Sophie was reminded of their childhood, when she had acted like a second mother to her younger siblings, always being the sensible one and rarely indulging in giggles.

‘When do we get to see your dress?’ Lettie asked the eldest sister.

‘Tomorrow, at the May Day parade. It’s not quite ready yet, and I don’t want you to see it looking anything less than finished.’ She sat back down at her sewing desk.

‘You’re always so serious!’ The girls giggled. It was true she was the most sensible of the three, and last year’s events had only made her act older than she was.

‘Have you made Howl a new outfit too?’ Martha asked, and as if by magic - Sophie suspected it actually was magic - Howl appeared in the doorway to Sophie’s sewing room.

‘I felt my ears burning.’ He smirked. Sophie rolled her eyes. He was always interrupting her and her sisters’ time together, if only to be dramatic - but then again, she expected drama when she married him.

‘Martha was just asking me what I’d made you for tomorrow, no need for the theatrics, Howl.’ Sophie replied, his signal to go.

‘Well, as you know, your sister is quite the talented seamstress, so she’s made me a wonderful new suit. Haven’t you, cariad?’ He moved to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist, which only made her roll her eyes with even more vigour. ‘But, you’ll see it at the parade. Don’t want to go spoiling the show now do we?’ 

This made Sophie a little suspicious - it wasn’t like Howl to refuse the chance to host his very own catwalk. She slanted her eyes at him, and he felt it was his time to leave. 

After more trimmings and alterations, the girls’ dresses were finally perfect, which let Sophie relax a little. She had always loved the feeling of finishing a garment - it was an incredible stress reliever. With some chit chat and gossip, Martha and Lettie were on their way, off to finish the rest of their pre-May Day errands. Unlike Sophie, they loved the holiday, while for her it was an unwelcome reminder of her run-in with the Witch of the Waste and the ensuing events. At least it had led her here in the end, she reminded herself - but still, there was that sense of uneasiness.

After saying her goodbyes at the door, she slumped down onto the sofa in front of the fireplace, where Calcifer was humming a tune.

‘You should hum more often,’ Sophie said. ‘You’ve got a lovely voice.’ She could have sworn she saw the fire demon turn a shy shade of red, though it was difficult to tell since he was nearly red all over. ‘Where’s Howl?’ 

‘He went out a while ago, not sure which door though.’ Calcifer paused his humming.

‘Hmm,’ she sighed.

‘What’s wrong?’ The fire demon asked, concerned. Sophie always found it surprising when Calcifer seemed genuinely concerned, after all, he was a demon.

‘He’s being very secretive about the suit I made him for tomorrow. I have a feeling he’s done something to it that he doesn’t want me to know about, and the last thing I need tomorrow is anything out of the ordinary happening.’ She grumbled. 

‘I wouldn’t worry about it,’ he replied. ‘What’s the big fuss about tomorrow anyway?’

Of course he didn’t realise - fire demons understood so little about human behaviour, especially anxiety. ‘Well, last May Day was when my whole life got turned upside down. I’m just worried something bad is going to happen.’

‘Hmm,’ Calcifer though about his response. ‘But last May Day was when you met Howl, and then of course, me. Surely it’s a good day?’

He had a point, though Sophie would never forget the fear she felt upon being cursed by the Witch of the Waste, and the pain she felt as an old woman, scared and alone. ‘I suppose you’re right...’ she conceded, not wanting to dwell on it any longer. She would just have to wait and see what tomorrow would bring, and no matter how bad a feeling she had about it, she wouldn’t let it get in the way. Well, she would try at least.


	2. In Which Sophie and Lettie Switch Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the May Day celebration, Sophie gets a sparkling surprise from Howl, and the gang play a game that doesn’t end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lil bit of a plot twist...  
> All characters belong to Diana Wynne Jones, except my OCs.

The day of the parade arrived sooner than Sophie had hoped, as it appeared she’d dozed off in front of Calcifer and slept straight through till morning.

‘Morning, cariad,’ Howl called amidst the clatter of pots and pans. Oh no, Sophie thought, he was making breakfast. Shooting up from the sofa, she saw her husband attempting to put ingredients together for porridge, though he seemed to be rather perplexed.

‘Less oats, more milk,’ she mumbled in a half-asleep voice. Howl seemed to get the hang of it, and soon enough the porridge had been eaten and it was time to get ready.

‘I really am a selfish cad, but dear, I have to quickly go over to Ben’s to discuss some royal business - would you hate me terribly if I had to meet you at the parade?’ Howl said while changing.

‘Oh...’ Sophie muttered. She had felt worried enough about today and now the prospect of having to walk to the parade alone made her even more anxious. ‘It’s fine, I suppose. I mean if it’s something to do with the king it must be urgent.’ She was certainly not her usual feisty self this morning, which Howl seemed to notice.

‘Thank you, cariad. I promise it won’t take long, and I’ll meet you on Cobbler’s Street so you won’t have to be at the parade alone.’ He placed a kiss on her forehead and grabbed the bag containing his suit.

‘You aren’t putting it on before you leave?’ She asked.

‘Wouldn’t want to risk messing it up before the parade.’ He replied, though she felt this was rather insincere. She had little time to question it anyway as he was out the door in seconds. Well, at least she had uninterrupted time to finish the alterations on her own dress now.

———

The streets of Market Chipping were always like a maze on May Day, decorations were everywhere, and many of them covered street names, much to Sophie’s annoyance as she had no idea where Cobbler’s Street was. She spent what felt like hours winding through the back alleys of the town, but to no avail. Still, she felt that uneasiness, moreso now that she appeared to be lost, worried that around every corner would be a new villain for her to face. Luckily she seemed to be very much alone, as the rest of the townspeople were enjoying the festivities in the main square - that was until she heard footsteps. The sound was almost unnoticeable, as whoever the footsteps belong to appeared to be taking great care in matching Sophie’s own pace, but every now and then they would falter and then quickly go silent. She gave up finding Cobbler’s Street and instead decided to make her way to the square, where her sisters and Michael would probably be celebrating - plus, she thought, there was always strength in numbers. As she quickened her pace, she felt the footsteps do the same until they were right behind her. Fearing she would not outrun them she decided to use more forceful, magical means to stop the assailant. 

‘Bag, help me out! Hit this thug with all the strength you can muster!’ She swung her bag behind her and turned around to see her handy work. The footsteps belonged to a tall, slim man, with reddish hair wearing a black suit and - what was that smell? She thought. The suit reeked of magic. Suddenly she realised she wasn’t in any danger at all. 

‘Sophie! Tell your damn bag to stop hitting me!’ The man cried out as his hair transformed back to a familiar blonde, his eyes to that blue she knew so well, and his suit back to the purple and golden one she had crafted earlier that week.

‘Bag, stop at once!’ The object obliged. ‘Howl what on Earth were you doing? Were you trying to give me a heart attack?’ Her face went pink with anger.

‘I didn’t mean to scare you!’ The wizard pleaded.

‘How did you think I was going to react to a strange man following me?’ A year ago, Sophie wouldn’t have dreamed of fighting off an attacker, but now she’d discovered her magic could be put to greater use, Howl should have expected this plan wasn’t going to end well.

‘I’m sorry! I was just trying to surprise you.’

‘Well, mission accomplished I’m not only surprised but also very, very angry.’ She huffed. ‘This is why you didn’t want me to see the suit? Because I’d be able to tell you enchanted it?’ 

Howl nodded.

‘What exactly was the surprise?’ Sophie asked, a little curious if not still very annoyed.

‘I...uh...’ he shuffled his hand around in his jacket pocket before retrieving a small box from it. ‘I was planning on acting out our first meeting, this time last year, but this time instead of being that awkward buffoon asking you out for a drink, I planned on giving you this.’ He offered the box to her. ‘The enchantment was just so I could follow you round in disguise until you got to Cobbler’s Street... I didn’t account for the fact that you wouldn’t be able to find it,’ he smirked.

She took the box from him and peeked inside, worried that it would be something horrendous like a frog or a spider. In fact, it was neither - inside lay a gold necklace with a small, emerald jewel attached. ‘Oh...’ she trailed off as she inspected it further.

‘Do you like it?’ Howl asked, nervously scratching his head as he did so.

‘It’s...gorgeous. Will you put it on me?’ She handed him the necklace and he obliged her request, draping it around her neck and clasping it secure. The emerald perfectly offset her red-gold hair.

‘Beautiful.’ Howl let out a sigh of relief. 

‘Why couldn’t you have just given me this without all the theatrics?’ Sophie huffed.

‘I was trying to be romantic.’ He replied.

‘Well this is romantic enough. Come on, let’s get to the parade before we miss it.’ She grabbed her husband’s arm, squeezing it tightly, as they made their way to Market Square.

————

‘Sophie!’ Lettie squealed as she took her sister in for a hug. ‘Your dress is stunning! No wonder you didn’t want us to see that you’d be upstaging us today!’ She chuckled as Martha joined them.

‘Really, Sophie, you’ve outdone yourself this time.’ She said.

The girls were right; Sophie’s May Day dress was one of her better designs. It was a bright teal with long sleeves and poofy skirt, and a sweetheart neckline that perfectly showed off her new necklace. 

‘When did you get this?’ Lettie pointed at the jewellery.

‘Anniversary present.’ She chuckled, looking over at Howl who was chatting with Ben and Michael. ‘I was so preoccupied with the preparations for today that I forgot to get him anything.’ She frowned.

‘I’m sure he doesn’t mind - anyway, you made him a rather dashing suit.’ Martha chimed.

‘Let’s dance!’ Sang Lettie, and before Martha or Sophie had chance to protest they were being swept into the centre of Market Square to join in with the festivities.

While Sophie may not have been a good dancer - Howl said she had two left feet - she certainly enjoyed the pastime, and today more than ever. All of the anxiety she had felt in the days before seemed to melt away as she spun around in the square, her arms linking up with whoever came into her path. After a few hours of dancing and a few too many drinks, the day passed into the evening, and the group merrily watched the sunset. 

‘It’s beautiful, isn’t it!’ Sophie leaned into Howl, needing him to support her full body weight, else she might fall over. 

‘You’re drunk!’ He laughed as he propped her up.

‘I am not!’ She protested, which caused her to wobble a little.

‘You can’t stand up by yourself, that means, my dear, you certainly are.’ He squeezed her tightly.

‘Let’s play a game!’ Lettie shouted from beside Ben, followed by a hiccup indicating she had also had too much to drink.

‘What kind of game?’ Michael, who was currently being propped up by Martha after consuming ten pints of ale, interjected excitedly.

‘A magical game!’ Lettie said dramatically. ‘Each of us has to perform a spell and whoever does the best one wins...’ she looked around for a prize. ‘A box of pastries from Cesari’s, bought by the losers, of course.’ 

‘Ahem,’ Martha coughed, ‘I think you’re forgetting I don’t know how to do magic.’ 

‘Hmm...’ Lettie thought aloud.

‘You can be the judge then!’ Howl replied.

‘Exactly!’ Lettie squealed in delight. ‘But you can’t be biased toward Michael.’

‘Something tells me Michael won’t be casting any successful spells anyway.’ Martha chuckled, which prompted the apprentice to poke her playfully in the side.

‘Okay, who wants to go first?’ Lettie looked around expectantly. Ever the show-off, Howl volunteered himself. He muttered a few Welsh sounding words under his breath before conjuring several flower crowns, which landed atop each of the groups’ heads. 

‘These are beautiful!’ Lettie cried out. 

Sophie shot him a look, knowing he’d just raided the flower shop of tomorrow’s stock. 

‘Very impressive, Howl.’ Martha said with mock seriousness, trying her best to play the judge.

Next was Ben, who in the same vain conjured another round of drinks for the group, not that any of them needed it.

‘Mmm, lovely ale!’ Michael gurgled through sips.

‘Maybe slow down a little though,’ Ben interjected, taking the drink from the tipsy apprentice.

‘Me next, me next!’ Lettie jumped with excitement, almost losing her balance, though Ben was there to support her. ‘I hope this works,’ she mumbled, and then began speaking under her breath. Within seconds her purple dress had transformed to teal, and her dark raven hair to a reddish gold. ‘Yes!’ She exclaimed.

‘That’s a very good likeness!’ Howl marvelled, impressed that a relatively inexperienced sorceress could pull such a trick off. 

Sophie looked down at her own body, which was now Lettie’s. They had switched places, just as Lettie and Martha had done the year before. ‘Is that what I look like?’ Sophie said dumbstruck. 

‘I’m Sophie Pendragon! I’m Sophie Pendragon!’ She sang in delight as she danced her way out to the centre of Market Square.

‘Come on, change us back!’ Sophie cried, trying not to make a scene. How she hated drama.

‘I’m Sophie! I’m Sophie!’ Lettie continued to sing as she linked up with several dancing strangers. 

At that moment, the sky seemed to open up and a great shadow cast itself over Market Chipping. Too drunk to notice, Lettie continued to sing, though everyone else was now preoccupied with looking up. From the sky, there was a great roar and a winged creature dove down. It was massive, with golden feathers and a great long beak. It swooped to the centre of Market Square where Lettie was, still singing ‘I’m Sophie!’, and picked her up with it’s terrifying talons. 

‘Lettie!’ Sophie cried out. ‘Howl, Ben, do something!’ 

But before they could open their mouths, Lettie and the winged creature were gone, the shadow disappeared from Market Chipping, and the sky closed back up.


	3. In Which We Learn of the Griffin and the Origins of Sophie’s Necklace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following Lettie’s kidnapping, the group head back to the castle to decide what to do next, when a few important discoveries are made about her captor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy, and please let me know if you like this chapter!

‘We’ve got to go look for her, now!’ Sophie cried back at the castle, still in Lettie’s form. After the winged creature had descended on Market Chipping, the May Day celebrations came to an abrupt halt, as most of the townspeople had run back home in fear. Sophie, Howl, Ben, Martha, and Michael had decided to make a plan back at the castle, where they hoped Calcifer would be of some help. Unfortunately, he was out this evening.

‘We shouldn’t go anywhere until Ben and I can consult with Calcifer.’ Howl replied, calmly.

‘No, we’ve got to go now! What if that thing is planning on killing her?’ Martha exclaimed before nestling her face into Michael’s shoulder. The events of the evening had thankfully sobered him, and the rest of the group, up. 

‘Ben, she’s your wife! You can’t just abandon her!’ Sophie shouted. 

Ben looked truly distraught. Dark bags had formed beneath his bloodshot eyes and his skin had turned a sickly grey - he was evidently conflicted. ‘I agree with Howl. We shouldn’t do anything until Calcifer gets back,’ he conceded.

‘This is ridiculous!’ Sophie let out a cry in anguish, which prompted Howl to put his arm around her, though she batted it away in anger. ‘What would that creature even want with Lettie anyway? She’s barely a sorceress!’

‘If you remember, dear, the creature believed she was you...’ Howl’s voice trembled. Sophie hadn’t given much thought to the fact that Lettie was using an enchantment at the time she’d been carried away - all she cared about was that her little sister had been stolen.

‘So what does this mean, the thing was after me?’ She realised.

‘Most likely.’ Ben piped up.

‘Oh goodness,’ Sophie slumped down onto the sofa in a sad pile, her purple skirt surrounding her. ‘Change me back. That way the creature will realise he’s got the wrong girl and let her go!’

Ben and Howl glanced at one another. It made sense, they supposed. ‘Alright,’ said Howl. He muttered a few words in sorcery but Sophie felt no change in herself. 

‘Why isn’t it working?’ She worried.

‘It’s Lettie. She’s probably holding onto the spell so we can’t change either of you back.’ Howl sighed. 

‘She wouldn’t want to put you in any danger - she knows the thing is after you.’ Ben mumbled before joining Sophie on the sofa, placing his head in his hands. Sophie did her best to comfort him, and for a moment it was hard to tell which sister she was.

‘What was that thing anyway?’ Asked Michael.

‘A griffin.’ A voice chimed in - it was Calcifer, who had appeared in the fireplace unnoticed amongst all the clamour.

‘Calcifer!’ Sophie jumped up and ran towards the fire. ‘Where have you been?’

‘I was catching up with my old star buddies above Market Chipping when suddenly we were interrupted by a great roar. I went down to investigate and that’s when I saw you - rather, Lettie - being carried away. I tried to follow the griffin but lost him somewhere in the clouds.’ He said.

‘Did you see or hear anything else?’ Howl cut in.

‘Well...’ the fire demon trailed off. ‘I heard the words wife...and...queen.’

Sophie was dumbstruck. Why would a griffin want her as his Queen?

‘Seems like I’ve got competition,’ Howl joked, though he soon came to regret this as the entire group shot him a disapproving look.

‘This is no time for joking, Howl. My sister has just been taken to God knows where to be married to this horrendous creature in place of me!’

Howl cowered, deciding not to retaliate.

‘Calcifer, what do you know about griffins?’ She questioned the fire demon.

‘Griffins are known for desiring and protecting precious jewels or gold - they also mate for life.’ He looked at Ben who was seeming even more distraught by the minute. ‘But this is out of character for a griffin - they steal jewellery not people.’

At the mention of jewellery Sophie grabbed her neck, feeling for the necklace Howl had given her earlier that day. It was gone. ‘My...my necklace! Lettie must have taken that too when we swapped places!’

‘Interesting,’ Calcifer muttered. ‘Where did you get said necklace?’ 

She shot a look at Howl who was still cowering in the corner. ‘I bought it from a merchant in Porthaven. Strange fellow come to think of it - he was awfully keen to get it off his hands.’

Sophie sank her head into her hands. Of course only Howl could be distracted enough by fine jewels so as to not notice suspicious behaviour. ‘Great. So my sister - who the griffin thinks is me - is about to be married to this creature for life because of some silly necklace. I hate May Day.’

‘But what do we do?’ Cried Martha.

‘Well, you should probably go to Porthaven. Find out who that merchant is.’ Calcifer suggested. ‘Meanwhile I’ll see if I can follow the griffin’s scent while it’s still fresh.’

‘Okay, let’s go!’ Martha and Sophie shouted together before heading towards to the door.

‘Maybe get some rest first. If this griffin wants to marry her - or you - then she’s not in any danger. Plus it’s not likely the merchant is selling this late at night.’ Calcifer reasoned, before shooting up and out of the chimney to investigate the griffin’s trail. 

‘He’s right.’ Howl piped up. ‘Ben, you should stay here - it won’t do you any good going back to an empty house.’ 

Ben nodded, picking his feet up off the floor so he could lie down on the sofa, dozing off almost instantly. It was decided that Michael would walk Martha home and stay with her there, just in case the griffin had any more ideas about accosting the Hatter sisters. Sophie and Howl wordlessly slinked off to bed, not knowing what to say to one another after the events of the day. This May Day was worse than the last, Sophie thought before drifting off to a dreamless sleep.


	4. In Which a Clue is Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie and Howl go to Porthaven in search of the shifty merchant, and find something that will help them in their search for Lettie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, enjoy and lmk what you think!

Sophie had awoken before sunrise. In fact, she was not certain whether she’d had any sleep at all. She couldn’t stop thinking about Lettie, all alone in the griffin’s lair, probably sleeping in some cold, dark dungeon, wondering why no one had come to save her yet. Pangs of guilt made her stomach turn, causing her to run to the toilet to throw up its contents.

‘Sophie,’ Howl emerged in the bathroom door, rubbing his eyes. ‘Are you okay?’

‘No.’ She said matter-of-factly, her head still over the basin.

‘Don’t worry about Lettie, you heard what Calcifer said, the griffin won’t hurt her.’ He tried to reassure her as he knelt down beside her, rubbing her back gently.

‘We don’t know that - what if Calcifer misheard him and the griffin just wants to eat her or something.’ She said, trying to hide her tears.

‘Griffins aren’t known for eating humans.’ Howl reasoned.

‘It’s all because of that stupid necklace you got me anyway. Why did you have to buy me that?’ 

Howl knew Sophie was angry, so he tried not to take too much of what she said to heart, but he couldn’t hide that he too was feeling guilty about the unknowing part he played in yesterday’s events. He just wished he’d never given the merchant his name.

‘You know I never meant for this to happen, cariad.’ He sighed, which seemed to subside Sophie’s anger a little.

‘We’re up now anyway,’ she clambered to her feet. ‘We’d better get ready to go to Porthaven.’

______

Downstairs, Ben was snoring loudly - at least one of us managed to get a good night’s sleep, Sophie thought as she strolled to the kitchen counter. Calcifer still wasn’t back yet, which was either a very good or very bad thing, though Sophie couldn’t decide. She prepared a quick bite of bread and cheese since cooking was not an exciting prospect at the moment.

‘Morning Lettie!’ Ben shuffled his way upright, then looked around confused. ‘Oh, right. Morning Sophie.’ He said glumly, remembering what had happened last night. ‘Howl?’ He looked around.

‘He’s still getting ready to go to Porthaven.’ Sophie rolled her eyes, annoyed that her husband couldn’t drop his beauty routine in light of the current circumstances.

‘Porthaven, yes. I should get ready too. I’ll just pop back-‘ 

‘There’s no need.’ Sophie interjected. ‘Besides, you’ll need to stay here in case Calcifer comes back while we’re gone.’ 

‘Right...’ the wizard slumped back down. She had never seen Ben look so terrible - even when he was part-man part-dog part-Prince Justin. He must really love Lettie, she thought.

‘Alright Mrs Nose, I’m ready!’ Howl came bounding down the stairs, fully beautified and chirpier than ever. Had the potions gone to his head enough to make him forget the gravity of the situation? ‘Morning Ben,’ he placed a knowing hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave it a subtle squeeze, as if in condolence. A few moments later the Porthaven door was swung open, and the couple made their way through to the town.

———-

It was a sunny day in Porthaven, and a salty wind blew through the town as Sophie and Howl searched for the merchant’s stall, but with no luck. Howl could have sworn it was by the docks, but then he noticed a familiar street by the bakery where it equally could have been.

‘The greatest wizard in all of Ingary and you can’t remember where you bought a stupid necklace? Give me strength!’ Sophie exclaimed angrily as they continued to scour the streets.

‘Shh woman!’ Howl replied, still trying to remember.

‘What were you even doing in Porthaven on that day?’ Sophie thought retracing his steps would be wise.

‘I came to deliver a spell to one of my customers - Mrs Rosewhistle - who was too sick to come to the shop.’ 

They walked to Mrs Rosewhistle’s house, a darling little end terrace that Sophie quite liked the look of, though now was no time to be thinking about real estate. Next, Howl remembered he had decided to go to the docks while he was in town, to see what kind of stock they had - he’d bought two red snappers, which Sophie recalled having for dinner the week before. After that, he had gone to the book shop to see if he could find any sorcery texts hiding at the back of the shelves - he’d previously found a great old book on divination and another on teleportation, so it seemed the shop was a treasure trove for magic. Once out of the book shop he turned right up Acre Street, which is where he came across the merchant selling the necklace.

‘Here!’ Howl pointed expectantly at an empty spot on the road. ‘He was right here...’ he trailed off as he realised there was no sign of a merchant anywhere.

‘Are you quite sure?’ Sophie responded worriedly.

‘Completely. He must have been a travelling salesman.’ 

‘Argh!’ Sophie cried before slumping down onto the floor. She sank her head in between her knees and let out another muffled groan. ‘We’ll never find Lettie!’ She whimpered. ‘She’ll be the wife of a cruel griffin obsessed with jewellery and I’ll never see her again!’ She sobbed.

‘Hold on, cariad.’ He touched her shoulder, causing her to look up. Tears clouded her vision but as she wiped them away she could clearly see what her husband was holding up to her. ‘A...brooch?’ 

‘From the court of Rashpuht apparently.’ He wiped it with his thumb until the engravings became more visible. ‘This looks awfully like a griffin to me, what do you think, cariad?’ 

He was right. It was a griffin, if not the very one that had snatched Lettie the previous day. ‘What does this mean?’ She asked, getting up from her crouched position.

‘I’d say it means that’s where Lettie is. Or this is just a very unlikely coincidence.’ Howl studied the brooch further. 

‘You stupid genius!’ Sophie jumped into her husband’s arms, which caused him to drop the brooch.

‘Careful dear. Wouldn’t want to lose the evidence.’ He smirked, picking it up.


	5. In Which They Visit Zanzib

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding evidence of the griffin’s whereabouts, the group had to Zanzib to track down Lettie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Also there is a little Easter egg for Castle in the Air because I couldn’t help myself.

‘We found something!’ Sophie exclaimed delightedly as she and Howl entered the castle. Calcifer had now returned and was sitting in the fireplace, surrounded by Ben, Martha, and Michael.

‘Get in line.’ Calcifer rolled his eyes.

‘Did you track down the griffin?’ Howl asked.

‘Not quite - but as I was just telling these guys, I managed to trace his scent all the way to Zanzib in Rashpuht.’ 

Sophie squealed, relieved that the brooch clearly hadn’t been a coincidence after all. She and Howl explained what they had found as the group tried to align their stories.

‘Who was the merchant then?’ Martha questioned.

‘My guess is that he was no ordinary merchant, if a merchant at all. He‘a probably a member of the griffin’s court, and he accidentally left his brooch behind.’ Howl suggested.

‘Hmm,’ Calcifer thought from the fireplace. ‘I don’t buy that he just happened to drop his brooch in the very place he wouldn’t want it to be found. Clearly he doesn’t want to be linked to the griffin if he went to all this trouble to get rid of a necklace.’

Calcifer was right, it was too much of a coincidence. Either way they now had two solid clues, which only meant one thing. 

‘Calcifer, move the castle to Rashpuht!’ Howl was met with a groan upon saying this, though the fire demon soon stopped his complaining as Sophie, Lettie, and Ben shot him a disapproving look. Before long the castle had gained a new portal to the city of Zanzib, capital of Rashpuht. Sophie peeked out of the doorway.

‘It’s awfully hot!’ She called back in to the rest of them. ‘There’s no way we’ll last out there in these clothes.’ She looked around at the fashions people were wearing - all lightweight linen gowns, even for the men, who didn’t look they much like the men she was used to seeing. Many of the more smartly dressed Rashpuhti were donning fine jewels, not unlike the necklace that had caused all this trouble. ‘Alright, I think I know what to do.’ Sophie made her way back up the stairs where she began speaking to everyone’s outfits.

‘Sophie, I swear if you ruin this suit again!’ Howl cried before being promptly enveloped by a blue linen dress. Ben was given a green gown, and Michael a red one, while Martha and Sophie wore matching cream. Jewels hung from the groups’ noses and ears and around their necks, though Sophie decided this was a little excessive in some cases - she didn’t want to draw too much attention to them. 

‘Done!’ 

Inspecting one another with disapproving faces they looked back to Sophie.

‘Cariad, are you sure we,’ Howl motioned to himself, Michael, and Ben, ‘should be wearing dresses?’

‘Oh calm down with that toxic masculinity!’ Martha chimed in. ‘I think you’ve done a splendid job,’ she took her sister’s arm as they walked towards the door for another look outside.

‘So... what do we do now?’ Michael asked nervously.

‘We go to the griffin’s court!’ Ben exclaimed, making his way to the door.

‘Hang on...’ interjected the fire demon. ‘You won’t be able to find the griffin’s court unless you know where it is.’

‘Where is it?’ Ben asked urgently.

‘I don’t know.’ Calcifer shrugged.

Before Ben had chance to blow, Howl thought it wise to calm the situation. ‘So what are you saying, we need to find it ourselves?’

‘Yes - you already had me track the griffin here and move the castle thousands of miles, can’t you do some of the heavy lifting?’

Calcifer’s snark evidently irritated Ben, but Howl held his friend back. ‘Right. Let’s go griffin hunting.’

————

The city of Zanzib was unlike Market Chipping in every way. Where the people of Market Chipping wore modest clothing that left them covered almost head-to-toe, Zanzibians were allowed to dress more freely, on account of the heat. Not only was Zanzib incredibly hot, it was also deathly dry, which left the group wondering how any produce grew in this part of the world, though they were surprised to see a number of round green coloured fruits filled with water growing on strange trees. Aside from the grown produce, the food, they discovered, was very unusual, yet delicious - scents of fried fish wafted through the Bazaar, mingling with star anise, garlic, and other curried spices. All of this sent their stomachs rumbling.

‘What’s this?’ Sophie bent down to look at a dish of fried foodstuffs.

‘Squid,’ said the seller, a stout little man with a dog beside him. The dog growled as Sophie went to touch it, causing her to snap her hand back.

‘We’ll take five portions please, sir,’ she said, and the man obliged. When the man told her the cost, she realised she had no means of paying, though Howl was quick to provide the sum.

‘You stole that, didn’t you?’ She shot him a look.

‘I conjured it, cariad.’ He smirked. 

‘I know that means you stole it, you horrible wizard.’ She huffed, and bit into her fried squid. The rest of the group made ‘mmm’ noises in approval as they tucked into the Zanzibian delicacy - this was certainly better than Market Chipping’s standard bread and cheese.

After lunch, they continued with their search for the griffin’s court, splitting up into smaller groups so they could better cover the area - Howl and Sophie; Michael and Martha; and Ben on his own. They agreed to meet back at the Bazaar square in an hour with any information they’d gathered.

‘I hope Lettie is okay,’ Martha worried as she and Michael made their way through the city’s winding streets.

‘She’s a smart lady, I’m sure she’s fine,’ Michael assured her.

‘Even so she’s never been in a situation like this before. Normally it’s Sophie who gets herself caught up with magical creatures.’ She twirled a piece of blonde hair nervously. ‘What are we even looking for?’

Before Michael could answer the pair were distracted by a booming voice coming from the end of the street. ‘Roll up! Roll up! Meet the great all-seeing eye of Irania!’ It bellowed.

‘That could be a good start,’ Michael shrugged, and the two quickened their pace.

At the end of the street was a small square, not unlike the Bazaar square they had just been in, and in the centre stood a one-eyed man. The man was dressed in regal-looking robes, and he had a long dark beard and moustache that formed into a sharp point at the ends. 

‘Who will be first to consult the all-seeing eye?’ Said a short man at the edge of the square - Michael wondered how such a bellowing voice could possibly come from such a small person.

‘We will!’ Martha raced up to the man, while Michael trailed behind reluctantly.

‘And how much are you willing to offer for this experience, oh sweet lady with hair like the glorious golden sun?’ The small man said, which caused Martha to blush a little. She eyed Michael, willing him to conjure something expensive. He muttered a few words in sorcery and a large ruby appeared in his hands, though where it had come from he had no idea. He offered it to the small man whose mouth gaped open at the sight. ‘I apologise for my poor manners my dear lady and generous gentleman, go right ahead.’ He said, before stowing the ruby safely into the bag at his feet.

‘Speak!’ Said the all-seeing eye of Irania, as Martha and Michael walked nervously up to him. They both looked at one another, neither wanting to be the first to speak, but eventually Martha gave in.

‘Great all-seeing eye of Irania... most powerful being in the land,’ she tried to emulate the small man’s descriptive style, ‘we come to you to ask for your help finding my sister.’ She paused.

‘Continue.’ Said the eye.

‘We would like to know, if you possess the knowledge to tell us, where the court of the griffin lies.’

The eye became wide, before squinting in a suspicious gaze. ‘How have you come to know of the Great Griffin of Rashpuht?’ He questioned the couple.

‘Urr,’ Martha wavered, not knowing how to explain their predicament.

‘My master is the great Wizard Howl of Ingary,’ Michael interjected much to Martha’s relief. ‘His wife, the esteemed Sorceress Sophie Pendragon, was stolen by the griffin. We must find her before she is put in any more danger.’ Michael was shocked by the amount of confidence he displayed against the intimidating being.

‘Wizard Howl...hmm... I do recall that name. Very well, you have paid and I shall tell you where to find the Griffin’s court.’ The eye paused. ‘On the red hill where the sun never sets, there you will find what you seek.’

The pair looked at one another, perplexed. ‘You can’t be more specific?’ Pleaded Michael.

‘You have asked, and I have provided an answer. Now move along.’

‘What a scam,’ Michael muttered as they made their way back to the square.

———-

Back at the Bazaar, the group reunited, each with their own useless piece of information. Howl and Sophie hadn’t managed to find anything because they were too busy squabbling over what counts as stealing, and Ben had found himself feeling incredibly faint in the hot sun, so resolved to spend his time consuming copious amounts of coconut water.

‘At least you didn’t get scammed,’ muttered Michael, who was yet to say anything about what he and Martha had found.

‘Scammed?’ Questioned Sophie.

‘We paid this one eyed guy a ruby to tell us where Lettie was, and he basically just made up a riddle,’ Martha moaned.

‘One eye?’ Howl pondered. ‘This wouldn’t be the all-seeing eye of Irania would it?’

‘How did you know?’ Michael said curiously.

‘Oh, I, uh, used to...how do I put this...go with his daughter,’ he replied, nervously scratching his head as he glanced at Sophie. ‘She had two eyes by the way. Anyway, he’s no scammer, he used to aid the King of Irania before they had a nasty falling out, and then he started to work independently. Would love to catch up with him, where-?’

‘We don’t really have time to watch you to get beaten up by the father of one of the many girls’ hearts you broke, Howl.’ She shot him an annoyed look, no doubt he would be in for questioning later. ‘Now tell us the riddle!’

Martha and Michael twiddled their thumbs, trying to remember exactly what the eye had said. ‘It was something about a red hill where the sun doesn’t set,’ Michael recalled eventually. ‘That’s where the griffin’s court is.’

The group looked around in confusion at one another, hoping that at least one of them would have an answer.

‘Oh!’ Howl said, before running off in the direction of the castle. Sophie was getting tired of his theatrics now, and how he expected them to keep up in this heat, she didn’t know. Slowly, the rest of the group lagged behind him until they arrived huffing and puffing back to the castle.

‘Wow, you guys are slow.’ Howl smirked. He was frantically searching his shelves, pulling dozens of books onto the floor as he did so.

‘I hope you’re planning on putting them back later!’ Sophie pouted.

‘Shh!’ He answered back, evidently having found the book he was looking for. ‘Here!’ He slammed the book down onto the table, open on a page with an illustration which showed a castle atop a red hill. ‘I knew that riddle sounded familiar.’

‘So where is it?’ Said Ben. The group were all crowded around the table now, peering down at the page.

‘The desert of Zunkhaman, where a strange weather phenomenon means the land is always in perpetual day time.’ Howl smiled triumphantly, evidently pleased with himself.

‘You wonderful wizard!’ Sophie exclaimed, launching herself into her husband’s arms and planting soppy kisses all over his face. It was a rather strange sight, particularly for Ben, since Sophie was still in her Lettie form. ‘Calcifer, take us to the desert of Zunkhaman, now!’


	6. In Which Sophie and Ben Express Their Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all becomes too much for Sophie and Ben, and they finally let their emotions over Lettie take hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short lil intermission before the action starts up again. Plus, I wanted to explore some of Ben’s inner turmoil, as I haven’t dedicated that much time to him so far. Enjoy!

‘I’m too exhausted! I can’t!’ Calcifer shouted back to Sophie, who had just demanded he move the castle twice in one day. 

‘What do you mean you can’t?’ She said, her voice slipping into that tone that frightened Calcifer, and everyone else in fairness.

‘I mean I’ve expended my energy. I’ve already moved the castle over a thousand miles today, and before that I was the one tracking the griffin’s scent!’ He exclaimed in defence. ‘Fire demons need rest too, you know.’

‘Rest? Rest!’ Sophie felt like grabbing a bucket of water and tossing it over him. ‘My sister is hauled up with some horrifying beast and this is how you behave?’

‘Sophie...’ Howl came up behind his wife, readying himself to hold her back from a fiery brawl.

‘How can you allow this?’ She turned to her husband.

‘If he’s too tired, he’s too tired, cariad,’ he reasoned, ‘he’s already done so much today.’

‘Argh!’ She cried out in anguish. ‘Move the castle, Calcifer!’

‘NO!’ The fire demon bellowed, enlarging himself out of the grate into his true, blood-curdling form before promptly shrinking back down. ‘I’m sorry Sophie,’ he furrowed his fiery brows, ‘but I need to rest first, or I won’t be any help if we need a quick getaway from the griffin.’

‘Urrghh!’ She stomped upstairs, slamming the bedroom door shut with an obnoxious thud. 

Calcifer certainly had a point, though, they were all in need of some hard-earned rest after the day’s events. Ben, still feeling faint from the heatstroke, slumped back down on the sofa, where Michael brought him an ice pack. Doing away with propriety for the night, Martha decided to sleep in Michael’s bed, as the floor didn’t seem a comfortable prospect. Calcifer had already drifted to sleep in the fireplace, evidently exhausted from a hard day’s work. Howl envied them all - he knew that when he went up to his bedroom he wouldn’t be in for a restful sleep, but rather a night filled with arguments and accusations from an unhappy Sophie. He braced himself as he opened the door.

‘Sophie?’ He peeked in to see his wife lying on the bed, covered by blankets which muffled the sound of her soft cries. ‘Cariad...’ he perched on the side of the bed and placed a reassuring hand on her back.

‘I’m completely useless,’ she sobbed.

‘No you’re not,’ he said, lying down beside her. Slowly, he pulled down the covers and was surprised to see Lettie’s face staring back at him, before remembering it was indeed his Sophie underneath.

‘I couldn’t save her,’ she whimpered, tears wetting her cheeks.

‘It’s not your fault - Ben and I couldn’t have done anything if we tried either.’

‘But I’m supposed to protect her... I’ve always protected her.’

Howl reached a hand over to tuck a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. ‘And you have - you’ve traversed half the globe for her.’

‘This never would have happened if it weren’t for me,’ she sniffed, ‘if only she’d switched with Martha again, or Michael, or Ben... if she hadn’t taken that necklace.’

Howl felt a pang of guilt over the mention of the necklace. ‘You know how Lettie loves pretty things, she’s probably glad to have the necklace.’ Sophie furrowed her brow in an angry state. ‘Either way, cariad, we’re going to find her, and soon we’ll be back home and back to normal.’

‘I’m never going to the May Day parade again, I hope you know.’ She sobbed, before nestling into him and nodding off with the rise and fall of his chest.

———

‘Lettie!’ Ben awoke shakily sweating during the night. Frantic, he shot up and began searching his surroundings before realising where he was again.

‘Nightmare?’ A voice crackled from the fireplace. 

‘Terrible one,’ Ben tried to relax, though found himself to still be sweating. He reached for the ice pack again, which was now warm, and muttered a few words which caused it to freeze once again. In all the chaos he had almost forgotten he was a wizard, just as powerful as Howl, if not more. ‘Did I wake you?’ He turned to the fire demon.

‘Yes, but it’s fine. I’ll doze off soon enough.’ He closed his eyes but was once again disturbed.

‘Calcifer?’ Ben said, tentatively.

‘Mmm?’

‘Do you really think that...Lettie is okay?’ He gulped. This was the first time he had let himself be vulnerable during this whole ordeal.

‘Like I said, if the griffin wants her as a wife, he won’t harm her.’ The word ‘wife’ evidently didn’t reassure the wizard. ‘I’m sure we’ll be able to get her back.’ Calcifer wasn’t used to comforting people, though he seemed to be doing a decent job by his own standards. 

‘I hope you’re right,’ Ben’s voice trembled. ‘I should have protected her.’

‘Come on, don’t beat yourself up about it. Griffins are very powerful creatures, you and Howl together would have had a job saving her.’ The fire demon sensed his wording was a little off, as this didn’t seem to help Ben at all.

‘I’m her husband though, dammit.’ He exclaimed, trying to keep his voice low. ‘It’s my job to make sure nothing happens to her!’

‘Ben,’ Calcifer said seriously. ‘You can’t blame yourself. She’s going to be okay.’ He reassured.

Ben nodded. ‘I should try and get some more sleep, anyway. I’ll need to be on top form if we’re facing the griffin tomorrow.’ He rolled over to the side, bringing his legs up toward his chest so he was almost in a foetal position, yet his mind was still racing with thoughts of Lettie and the griffin.

‘How about I hum a little lullaby? Take your mind off things?’ Calcifer suggested, heeding Sophie’s earlier advice to hum more often.

‘Mmhmm,’ Ben agreed, and Calcifer began a soothing tune which sent them both off to sleep before long.


	7. In Which The Griffin is Confronted and There is Laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With renewed energy, the group arrive at the griffin’s court where they make a plan to retrieve Lettie, but it isn’t as hard as they thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Let me know what you think of this chapter!

It didn’t take long for Calcifer to regain his energy. At the crack of dawn he had awoken everyone with a loud crackle, and the group had promptly assembled themselves in the living room - Sophie even managed to convince Howl to cut his morning routine down to a record half an hour.

‘Our best bet is for you guys to enter the castle from the front and greet the griffin, while I try and find Lettie by sneaking in unnoticed around the back.’ Calcifer explained his plan. ‘We’ll probably also need some kind of leverage, to gain the griffin’s favour.’

‘Oh!’ Martha nudged Michael sharply with her elbow. ‘Michael conjured a huge ruby yesterday, would that do?’

‘As I said, griffin’s love jewels.’ The fire demon crackled.

‘Do it again!’ Martha egged the apprentice on, who now had a nervous look in his eyes. He was surprised enough yesterday when the conjuring spell worked, what were the chances he’d get it right again? He muttered a few words under his breath, and lo and behold, not one, but a pile of glistening rubies appeared in front of him. He gave a humble shrug to the rest of the group.

‘Well done Michael!’ Howl patted his apprentice on the back. ‘These smaller rubies would make fine earrings, don’t you think cariad?’ He said turning to Sophie for approval. She rolled her eyes.

‘Don’t go stealing our leverage, we’ll need every last one if we want to convince the griffin of our good intentions.’ Calcifer reached out a fiery hand to bat Howl away from the pile. ‘It’s best that Howl and Ben lead, them being the Royal Wizards and all - hopefully the griffin will recognise the power you two hold, politically and magically, and not make any trouble. And it’s important that Howl is the one to speak for Lettie, since after all, the griffin believes her to be Sophie.’

‘What if we run into the merchant?’ Sophie chimed in, remembering the brooch from earlier.

‘Hmm, he could be a tricky character. But let’s cross that bridge when we come to it - anyway, we don’t know for certain how close he is to the griffin, if at all.’ Calcifer reasoned, which left Sophie a little uneasy. She knew the brooch couldn’t have been a coincidence, and she had a feeling that the merchant fellow would prove more of a problem than Calcifer anticipated. ‘It may be safer for some of you to stay behind in the castle, just in case anyone gets any ideas about stealing it - Sophie, Michael, and Martha, you stay behind.’

‘No way!’ Sophie shouted. ‘You think I’m going to stand by and watch as you boys do all the work? Absolutely not!’ She went red with anger. ‘Plus, I’m a sorceress, you need me in there.’ She had a point, and Calcifer would be damned if he tried to keep her in the castle.

‘Alright,’ he conceded.

With the plan decided there was only one thing left - get to the griffin’s court. It didn’t take long for Calcifer to transport them there, as the desert of Zunkhaman was only a few hundred miles further east. As the castle plonked down, Sophie and Martha ran to the window to see the griffin’s court in all its glory, and glorious it was indeed. Atop a tall hill covered in red sand stood a golden palace, more elegant than the King of Ingary’s residence, or any neighbouring castles. The entrance was adorned with enormous jewels - rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, amethysts, and more - that glistened in the light of the hot sun that never ceased to shine. The gates were guarded by two golden figures that seemed to represent two griffins, and at the top of each turret waved the kingdom’s flag, identical to the design Sophie and Howl had found on the brooch. To Sophie, it all seemed very over-the-top - she much preferred her own castle - though she guessed Howl would happily move in tomorrow.

With such little time before the guards noticed the arrival of the moving castle, Calcifer quickly darted out of the chimney and made his way to an unseen position, where he hoped he would find a more covert way in. Sophie, Howl, and Ben meanwhile readied themselves in the most official clothes they could find to show that they were indeed who they said they were - of course, the not-so-subtle bag of jewels Ben was struggling to carry would also be a signifier of this. Martha and Michael, staying behind, promised they would remain by the window until the rest of the group got back, so that they could see any oncoming danger and attempt to warn the others in time. All that was left was to confront the griffin, and Sophie feared that with all she had learned about his kind, he would not be a welcoming host.

‘Pick your feet up, Howl!’ Sophie ordered as the three began their march up the red hill to the palace gates.

‘What I do with my feet is none of your business, Mrs Nose,’ he smirked back, which only caused her to scowl.

‘And Ben for goodness sake, don’t drag that bag behind you like that!’ She gave out another order, though this time it was received with less argument, as Ben picked up the bag of jewels and slung it over his shoulder.

‘Who goes there?’ A voice called out from atop the hill. As far as Sophie could see it was a rather diminutive man, wearing red and gold armour which was much too large for him. She was surprised to see a human at all here, as she had expected an altogether more mythical court.

‘Wizard Suliman and Wizard Howl of Ingary, my good sire!’ Howl shouted back with a dramatic sashay.

‘On what business?’ The voice said.

‘To see the griffin - he has possession of my wife, Sorceress Sophie Pendragon, and I wish to claim her back.’ They had almost reached the top of the hill now so that they could see the diminutive man in full view, and close up he was even smaller and skinnier than he seemed before.

‘I will need to check your bag.’ He indicated to the sack over Ben’s shoulder, and the wizard happily obliged in setting the item down in front of him. The diminutive man opened it up and let out a small gasp before composing himself once again.

‘A peace offering for the griffin,’ Ben interjected.

‘How thoughtful,’ the man picked up a small ruby and held it up to the beating sun, eyeing it with interest. ‘You may proceed.’ He pocketed the jewel and sent them on their way. It seemed it wasn’t just griffins who had a thing for precious stones here. 

Inside, the palace was even more spectacular, with high ceilings painted with murals that seemed to depict the griffin king and his many victorious battles - one showed him defeating a powerful djinn, another a terrifying gorgon, and another a huge cyclops. It seemed there was nothing the griffin could not beat, which left Sophie feeling uneasy at the prospect of the three of them needing to use forcible means, though she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Everywhere else she looked she saw jewels, more types than there were adorning the outside, and somehow still sparkling as if in direct sunshine. As they made their way through the castle they were ushered along by other small attendants - perhaps there was something in the water here that stunted growth, Sophie thought - and each of them took equally small jewels as compensation for the task of transporting the three. Sophie looked around unnervingly, trying to find any sign of Calcifer or Lettie, but to no avail, as all that was visible in plain sight was the thousands and thousands of precious stones that adorned the walls. 

Then, they were at the throne room.

A small attendant thrust open the giant door. ‘Your guests, oh great one.’ He said before scuttling out.

The griffin was even more terrifying than Sophie had remembered. His talons were long and sharp, no doubt he could easily kill an opponent in one swipe. His feathers glistened like a jewel in the sun, an inhuman golden colour. A long, hooked beak protruded from beneath his beastly eyes, which were currently glancing between his visitors. Yet with all of his blood-curdling qualities, Sophie found him rather intriguing, and she didn’t doubt that Howl and Ben felt the same.

‘Who do I extend the honour of my presence to today?’ The griffin asked, batting his giant wings in a triumphant display as he did so.

Ben and Sophie looked to Howl. ‘The Royal Wizards of Ingary, your grace - I, Howl Pendragon, and my associate, Benjamin Suliman, along with his wife, Sorceress Lettie Suliman.’ Howl bowed his head and the others followed - he hated sucking up to authority, but given the circumstances he didn’t mind putting on a show. 

‘And how have you managed to enter my court without an invitation?’ The griffin growled. There was still no sign of the merchant, and Howl began to wonder if he had had anything to do with the griffin at all.

‘My wife - Sorceress Sophie Pendragon - is in your custody, I believe. I’m afraid there has been a terrible misunderstanding and we wish to exchange her for a peace offering.’ Howl signalled to Ben, who laid down the bag of jewels in front of the griffin. The griffin instructed a guardsman to inspect the gift, who was found to be perfectly satisfied with its contents.

‘This is extremely generous - though I have many like it in my collection already, I am always happy to receive more.’ 

Sophie had to stop herself from audibly sighing as it became clear to her just where Michael had conjured the jewels from. Luckily, it seemed he hadn’t noticed their disappearance for a few hours, and would probably never think such a stupid sorcerer would steal from the very person he had intended to bribe.

‘Your wife has come under no harm in my palace, I assure you,’ the griffin said in a surprisingly warm tone. ‘Rashid! Escort Mistress Sophie into the throne room immediately!’ Another small man skulked into visibility - he must have been hiding before - which caused Howl’s hands to make all sort of motions behind his back to Sophie. This was the merchant, he wordlessly communicated. Rashid, who had tried to keep as little eye contact as possible with Howl, slinked away to retrieve Lettie.

Sophie’s anger for the griffin began to boil over. She couldn’t help but wonder, when he had so many jewels in his palace already, why he was so bothered by a simple necklace - and why did his desire for the necklace have to get Lettie swept up with it. She knew what he wanted to do with Lettie - marry her and keep her hauled up in this castle for the rest of her life, away from her family and friends and her real husband. She couldn’t let that happen.

‘I won’t let you marry my sister!’ She cried out instinctively, regretting it almost immediately. This was the first thing she had said in front of the griffin, and Howl and Ben couldn’t help but shoot her a look of shock. They all feared what was to come next.

‘Marry her?’ The griffin replied confused. He then let out a roaring laugh that echoed through the throne room. ‘Marry a human!’ He spluttered.

At that moment, a rather unscathed looking Lettie (still in Sophie’s form) appeared with the merchant. She was still wearing the necklace, much to the group’s surprise. ‘Ben!’ She whispered under her breath, not wanting to draw too much attention. ‘What’s so funny, your highness?’ She looked to the griffin. Sophie couldn’t help but wonder why she was treating the griffin in such a colloquial way, almost as if they were friends, when this was the very same creature that cruelly captured her.

‘They...’ the griffin composed himself. ‘They think I want to marry you!’ 

Lettie laughed, the kind of laughed she usually only reserved for when she and Martha were playing a practical joke on Fanny or Sophie - uninhibited hysterics. Whatever was so funny, Sophie, Howl, and Ben were not in on the joke.


	8. In Which Lettie shows her Intelligence, and the Griffin is Grateful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group have finally come to Lettie’s rescue, but she was clearly no damsel in distress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! One more fluffy chapter to come after this!

Lettie and the griffin were almost in hysterics, and would have continued in such a hilarious state it it wasn’t for Sophie speaking up.

‘Excuse me, but what exactly is funny here?’ She said matter-of-factly, rather sounding like her old, savage self once again.

‘I think there has been a mistake - I never intended on marrying Mistress Sophie!’ The griffin composed himself. ‘She may be lovely but to marry a human would be...inconceivable! Not to mention I am already happily married!’

‘Already... married?’ Sophie retorted. ‘Then why did our fire demon hear you muttering about marriage when you stole my sister away?’

‘A fire demon, eh! I thought I sensed a powerful presence in the castle.’ He looked around the throne room, scanning for Calcifer. ‘Your demon likely heard me explaining to Mistress Sophie that she possessed something belonging to my wife.’

Lettie was already shifting her way across the room, first embracing Ben, then Sophie, then Howl. Ben looked as if he might literally melt with relief and Sophie was ready to do the same. But she had to keep her wits about her in front of the griffin.

‘Lettie...’ whispered Ben. ‘Can you tell us what’s going on?’

‘As Zertzes - the griffin - said, it was all a misunderstanding.’ She began to explain. ‘He took me in the first place because he believed that I, or at least Howl, had stolen his wife’s necklace.’

‘She was terribly distraught,’ the griffin cut in. ‘She had been preparing to deliver our eggs when it happened, a distressing state nonetheless, and the necklace was all that gave her comfort. My butler, Rashid, was able to locate the necklace in a far-off land, but it seems before he could get to it Wizard Howl already had it in his possession.’ He shot Howl an unimpressed look, thought the wizard suspected there was more to this story than met the eye. ‘So, I went to look for the necklace in the place called Ingary myself.’

‘Anyway, when Zertzes heard me shouting my name was Pendragon that day and parading around in the necklace, he saw it as a chance to get the necklace back.’

Ben looked angry now, as if reliving the moment he thought his wife was lost forever, so she laid a gentle hand on his.

‘Sophie, my friend, am I mistaken in thinking your husband is the Wizard Howl, yet you seem so close with this gentleman?’ The griffin pondered.

Lettie then went onto explain to Zertzes what magical mischief had happened that May Day, something she had evidently withheld initially for the sake of not wanting to complicate things further or get the real Sophie into any trouble.

‘So this was the glamour you were under...’ the griffin realised. When he had stolen her, Lettie had been very willing to give up the necklace but explained that it was under a glamour - really it was still connected to the real Sophie - she knew if she left the castle and changed back the necklace would return to its original owner, and thus would cause all of this chaos to unfurl again. For ease of explanation she didn’t go into detail of this glamour with the griffin at the time, as well as for fear of how he’d react, and once he got accustomed to her as Sophie she thought it best not to explain that she was in fact someone else entirely.

‘That explains why Howl couldn’t take the spell off too! You were holding onto it!’ Sophie said, almost angrily but more with relief.

‘Yes - I’m sorry everyone, it seems I have caused a lot of worry and confusion. I just needed you to come and ‘rescue’ me as I knew you would, and then when I changed us back the necklace wouldn’t be far away.’ Lettie was rather proud with her plan, and the group were certainly impressed.

‘Go on then!’ The griffin interrupted. ‘Change back by all means.’ 

With a quick utterance of a few foreign sounding words, Lettie became Lettie and Sophie became Sophie again. The sparkling necklace appeared around Sophie’s neck, just as it had been on May Day, and it was lovelier than she remembered - no wonder Howl had been so drawn to it. She undid the clasp and made her way over to the mighty griffin, who loomed over Sophie’s comparatively minuscule frame, and handed it to him.

‘Well, thank you all for returning this to me, my wife will be overjoyed!’ He bellowed. ‘Though I do wonder how you got your hands on it in the first place.’

Lettie cleared her throat. ‘If I may, your highness.’ 

‘Please S-‘, he trailed off realising this was not her real name. 

‘Lettie.’ She added. ‘The mystery of our involvement has perplexed me also. When I heard Howl had given the necklace to Sophie as an anniversary gift, I thought nothing of it - he may be a selfish, sly, slithery-outery-‘ she stopped herself, seeing the disapproving look from Howl and hearing giggling from Sophie. ‘Anyway, what I’m saying is, Howl maybe be a lot of things, but he’s no thief.’ She assured.

‘Unless conjuring counts,’ Sophie muttered under her breath which prompted an elbow in the side form her husband.

‘She’s right - about the thief thing at least - I bought that necklace from a merchant in Porthaven.’ Howl looked around for the butler-merchant-whoever-he-was, but it seemed he had left the throne room. ‘A merchant who looked an awful lot like your associate.’ 

‘Rashid?!’ The griffin roared.

‘Just as I suspected!’ Lettie exclaimed triumphantly. She revelled in the fact that all of her theories were turning out to be true, proving herself as a gifted sorceress indeed. After all, in the way that sisters often envied one another, Lettie had felt her magical powers inferior to Sophie’s as of the last few months, despite the fact that she had been studying with Mrs Fairfax and then Wizard Suliman much longer than Sophie had even been so much as aware of her powers. ‘Excuse me, your highness, allow me to offer a little explanation. Calcifer!’ She shouted, the words echoing around the room.

Almost instantaneously, Calcifer appeared hovering in a much larger form than usual - evidently all of this excitement was doing wonders for his powers. Clasped in his fiery grip was Rashid, who was shaking with fear - in the other hand he was holding a number of large eggs. 

‘Is this true, Rashid?’ The griffin boomed, though clearly he was emotionally wounded. The merchant butler didn’t say a word, though the faint sound of his teeth chattering could be heard throughout the castle.

‘I had my suspicions about Rashid from the moment we met. For one, the way he looked at the necklace when I entered the palace for the first time, and not me - it was like he was scared of it, though now I realise he was just scared of the fact that Zertzes had found it quicker than intended.’ Lettie explained calmly, a small smirk appearing on her lips. ‘Of course, I knew I couldn’t leave this place and change back anyway, but a part of me knew I had to stay to uncover the truth. So, I started digging. The necklace, as you say,’ she turned to the griffin, ‘disappeared while your wife was delivering her eggs, yes?’

The griffin nodded in agreement.

‘But you were out at the time, looking for the necklace weren’t you?’ 

Another nod.

‘This gave Rashid all the time and opportunity to carry out his real purpose - stealing your eggs.’ 

The room gasped and the griffin looked angrier than ever.

‘I was able to cast an invisibility spell to allow me to slip inside Rashid’s room unnoticed one evening, where I found the real eggs hidden in the back of his wardrobe. The ones in your wife’s nest of course, were fakes.’

‘What’s to say she didn’t plant the eggs on me and put the fake eggs there herself?!’ Rashid shouted in his defence, still shaking.

‘I thought you might say that. Here.’ She handed the griffin some pieces of paper produced from her pocket. ‘Designs for the fake eggs and correspondence between Rashid and whoever made them - an artist in Rashpuht as far as I can tell. This is his handwriting is it not?’ She queried.

‘It looks to be so.’ The griffin admitted, now almost snarling.

‘Griffin eggs sell for large sums on the black market. Getting your hands on one - or a few - means you’re set up for a comfortable life.’ Lettie added for context.

‘How did Calcifer know to find Rashid?’ Sophie interjected.

‘Well, about that. That was a little deception on both our parts.’ She chuckled. ‘You see, Calcifer found me that same night he traced the griffin’s scent. He was set on bringing me home but I told him of my suspicions and he agreed to help.’

‘So all this time we were looking for Lettie you knew where she was?!’ Sophie shouted at the fire demon, who was now cowering almost as much as Rashid was. ‘If I had a pale of water!’ 

‘I’m sorry, Sophie. Lettie said we had to make sure you found her for yourself, so you wouldn’t risk yourself being part of the plan.’ Calcifer explained.

‘Of course I did send you that clue to help.’ Lettie said, and Sophie cast her mind back to the brooch she and Howl had discovered all-too-coincidentally in Porthaven.

‘Ugh! You two!’ She could easily have gotten very angry, but then remembered there were bigger things at hand.

‘Well...’ the griffin boomed. ‘I don’t know what to say about any of this.’ 

‘Please your highness, I beg forgiveness oh great one!’ Rashid fell to his knees and clasped his hands together.

‘You aimed to deceive me - and you would have succeeded if not for this fine sorceress and fire demon - and now you beg for forgiveness?’ Said the griffin. ‘Guards!’ He shouted, prompting several of those small men to enter the throne room. ‘Throw this man to the desert!’

With that, the small men rose up into much larger and more intimidating half-men half-horse hybrids. The galloped over to Rashid and one picked the trembling man up with ease, then they were out of the throne room, their hooves clicking as they went. 

‘Centaurs!’ Howl said excitedly. ‘I’ve never seen them in the flesh before, my goodness this is exciting!’ Sophie nudged him, in an effort to say shut up, this was not the time. 

‘I cannot apologise enough for the harm Rashid has caused you all.’ The griffin said glumly. ‘I could never have imagined he would betray me in this way. S-Lettie, you have been a great friend to me the past few days - I only regret how the friendship started!’ He chuckled.

‘Your highness, I would not have had it any other way.’ She curtsied, prompting Sophie to do the same, and Howl and Ben to follow in a bow, though they weren’t as grateful to the griffin as Lettie apparently was.

Suddenly there came a small rumbling from Calcifer’s hand - or more specifically, what was in it. One by one, the eggs gave a few mighty cracks and out sprung several baby griffins, hovering clumsily as they did so.

‘Sarralla!’ The griffin called out his wife’s name, who followed almost instantly, glee and slight confusion filing her eyes as she saw her five newborns not where she expected them. A quick explanation came from both the griffin and Lettie, followed by great jubilation. It was decided that the five babies would be named after the very people who helped to save their lives - Lettie, Calcifer, Sophie, Howl, and Suliman (the griffin’s preferred his surname to just ‘Ben’). Unfortunately there were simply not enough offspring to honour Michael and Martha, who Sophie assured had been just as much help in their expedition, though the griffin said he’d keep their names in mind for the future. He also offered them access to his entire stash of jewels (except the necklace of course), and while Howl had been keen to fill his pockets to the brim, Sophie reprimanded him, saying not to get cheeky, and he settled for a few green jewels that sparkled against his golden hair instead. Hugs were exchanged between Lettie and the griffins, promising she would return soon to spend some time with the little ones, though Ben was clearly anxious at the thought - he’d be damned if he let her come here alone again. And with all that fuss, it was time for the group to return to Market Chipping. They had certainly all had enough of international travel for the time being.


	9. In Which It Is May Day (Again)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year after the events of the previous chapter, it’s May Day again, and the gang are hoping this year will be a little less eventful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter! Very cute and fluffy which I loved writing, so I hope you enjoy! Thanks for all the kudos so far :)

The events that unfurled the previous May Day were on Sophie’s mind on the morning of this year’s celebrations. Surely nothing as unusual could happen this year, she thought to herself, though she had had that exact same thought then too. At least it all worked out for the best, she reminded herself - Lettie had gained a high-powered friend in the griffin, and he had even assisted with a few magical misdemeanours in Ingary, often to Howl, Ben and Calcifer’s benefit too. Martha and Michael’s wedding had been a lavish affair also thanks to the griffin, with the ceremony taking place in one of his many unused golden rooms, his way of saying thank you since he didn’t have enough children to name after them. The griffin even sent Sophie a necklace almost identical to the one that had started all the fuss, as a gift for her birthday. With all of this said though, Sophie desired nothing more than an uneventful May Day.

‘Get out of the bathroom, Howl! We’re going to be late for goodness sake!’ She thumped on the door.

‘Ta da!’ Howl stepped out momentarily, freshly spruced with his hair a shining raven black. He grabbed his wife by the hand and spun her round in a clumsy dance, which made her chuckle despite their tardiness.

‘But you hate your hair dark?’ Sophie said, regaining her footing.

‘Ah, but as you once told me, you prefer the natural look,’ he twirled a piece of her red gold hair in between his fingers. ‘This is my gift to you for the second anniversary of our meeting - I figured this wouldn’t anger any griffins or other magical beings.’

‘Well, I much prefer it to jewellery.’ She replied, leaning up to kiss her husband in thanks.

‘I thought this would get me more than a kiss - I hate my black hair you know?’ He teased.

‘That’s your own fault for spending two hours in the bathroom! Come on, we better get going if we don’t want to miss the parade.’ 

Sophie turned to make her way downstairs before a hand on her shoulder made her reconsider. ‘Those parades always start the same...’ Howl placed a hand onto her waist, tilting her chin up towards his smirking lips with the other. ‘What’s a few minutes late?’

————

‘I’m really not certain about today.’ Ben worried to his wife that same morning, as she was primping herself in the mirror.

‘What do you mean?’ She said, rougeing her cheeks, blissfully unaware of her husband’s inner anxieties.

‘It’s just... last May Day...when you got taken away from me... I just... I thought you were gone forever and I felt as if I might die...’ he sighed. Lettie turned her attention away from the mirror and towards Ben, who was holding his head in his hands. ‘I just have a terrible feeling something is going to happen again today.’

‘Oh Ben...’ Lettie placed her arms around his sad shoulders, and he let out a helpless sigh. ‘I promise you, nothing is going to happen. Besides we can’t cancel now, no doubt everyone is waiting for us to arrive.’ She reassured him.

‘I know I’m being paranoid, but who could blame me after what we went through?’ He said.

‘But it was all alright in the end - I mean if it hadn’t happened we wouldn’t be holidaying in Zertzes’ palace next week would we?’ She gave him a soft nudge.

‘You’re right,’ he chuckled. ‘Come on then, let’s get you to that parade!’ He beamed taking Lettie’s hand.

————

‘What took you guys so long?’ Michael panted as he hurried over to Howl and Sophie, who despite their best efforts, had turned up predictably late. Michael led them through the packed square of Market Chipping, turning around and making hurried motions every so often to make sure they were still behind him. Eventually, they arrived outside a tavern where Martha, Ben, and Lettie were waiting to watch the parade.

‘Finally!’ Martha exclaimed. ‘The parade is about to start, what were you doing?’ Howl and Sophie exchanged bashful glances before muttering something incoherent - luckily, any potential prodding was made impossible by the loud parade music that had begun to play, signalling that the May Day floats would be passing by them momentarily.

‘Look, there’s Cesari’s float!’ Lettie cried, pointing at the large cake-shaped wagon, adorned with hundreds of smaller cakes, that was making its way past the tavern. ‘Martha it looks wonderful! Did you really make all those cakes?’ 

Martha nodded proudly - her baking and decorating skill was truly unmatched, hence why Mr Cesari had given her the responsibility for the float.

The rest of May Day passed by in a whirlwind of colourful floats, never-ending beverages, and gleeful dancing, as the group had all but forgotten the terrible events that unfurled the year before. 

‘Excuse me everyone!’ Martha clinked the side of her glass with a fork, begging the attention of her family. ‘Michael and I have something to tell you all.’ She smiled to her newlywed husband.

‘We’re having a baby!’ Michael burst out, unable to contain it any longer.

‘Oh my God!’ Sophie and Lettie exclaimed simultaneously, shocked and happy all at once. ‘That’s fantastic!’ Sophie let out, before embracing her sister and brother-in-law into a hug.

‘You’re so young!’ Lettie couldn’t quite contain her slight disapproval.

‘Well, when you want ten children you’ve got to start early.’ Martha chuckled.

The group ordered a round of drinks - non-alcoholic for Martha - in celebration and resumed their festivities, feeling a little more giddy than before. It was well into the evening before they stopped drinking and decided it best for them all to part ways, while they could still keep their balance. 

‘I can’t believe it...’ Sophie sighed as she and Howl slumped down on their bed.

‘I know, I’ve never been able to out-drink Suliman! That’s his dignity and five gold pieces he lost tonight!’ Howl lay back, starting to feel the effects of all that ale.

‘No you stupid drunken wizard, I can’t believe Martha is pregnant already! After only a few months...’ She wasn’t sure if she was jealous of her sister or disapproving of her life choices.

‘Michael’s a fast worker, I’ve always said that.’ Howl snorted, and Sophie shot him a look as if to say she wished she hadn’t heard that. ‘What’s up really, cariad?’

‘I don’t know...’ she whined. ‘I guess I just thought as the eldest, I’d be the first to...’ She didn’t have the courage to finish the sentence, fearing what Howl would say about prospective parenthood.

‘I didn’t realise you felt this way about children,’ he sat up, placing his arm around her waist. 

‘Well, I’m not adverse to the idea of them. And I wouldn’t mind a smaller version of us running around, as long as they got my handiness and not your vanity.’ She chuckled.

‘Vanity? You wound me.’ He feigned hurt. ‘But I have to agree, as long as they got my good looks and not your nosiness.’ He laughed.

‘So, shall we try it then? The whole parenthood thing?’ She said, going a little pink at the thought of being someone’s mother.

‘Why not, eh?’ Howl smirked. ‘We could even give it a go now.’ 

‘Or we could wait until someone has slept off the effects of that ale?’ Sophie giggled, falling back onto the sheets with Howl following shortly after.

‘Ugh, fine.’ He whined, disappointed.

‘Goodnight, Mr Wizard.’ She snuggled herself into Howl’s chest.

‘Goodnight, Mrs Witch.’ He muttered under his breath.

This May Day hadn’t turned out so bad after all.


End file.
